Today, my friend Philip posted a status update that many of you probably saw (or posted), if you logged in at some point today, or heard about via other friends. Hell, I even received a status update from President Obama (or his PR lackeys) commenting on how pleased he was to see this showing up all over Facebook:
No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.
Hard to disagree with that, right? I mean, as far as I'm concerned, healthcare is a basic human right...up there with education, shelter, and food. Well, little did I (or Philip, for that matter) realize the debate that would ensue as a result of this post. Yeah, I know the whole healthcare topic has been stirring up a variety of emotions and reactions. But I'd always assumed that the people who were opposed to it were a bunch of redneck whackos from BFE Arkansas. Because I couldn't imagine any of my friends or aquaintances taking issue with the idea that healthcare should be available to all people, everywhere.
Clearly I was wrong. It turns out some people are perfectly happy with the idea of making healthcare available to anyone who needs it....just so long as they don't have to lift a finger or make any changes to their lives in order for it to happen. Some people claim their main objection is a lack of trust in the government. They have doubts it will be able to get a monumental program like this off the ground and make it work. Others like to dredge up the dreaded "welfare queen" bogey...the idea that there are thousands of freeloaders out there who are waiting eagerly for the whole healthcare system to change so they can milk the fuck out of it and take advantage of all us hardworking souls.
Please people. Give it a rest. And stop and think for a moment. Do you honestly think you have more of a right to healthcare than the three-year old child of a single mom on welfare? Are you willing to refuse healthcare to said mother and child because a) she can't pay for it which means b) you (and everyone else) may have to help pick up the tab? And just because a task seems challenging and potentially filled with pitfalls, shouldn't we at least give it our very best shot to do what we can to make affordable healthcare available to everyone?
As I was in the middle of writing this, I received a troubling email from a fellow mom who subscribes to the same parenting forum as me. She is unemployed. Her husband has a job but barely makes enough (in fact, he does NOT make enough) to cover the cost of rent, bills, and food. Once insurance kicks in, an additional $400 will be deducted from his paycheck each month....$400 this family urgently needs to continue having a roof over their heads. Last month this gal sold her parents' wedding rings to help make ends meet. A few months prior, she sent out an email asking if anyone was willing to pay her for odd jobs so she could make enough money to feed her family that week. I happen to know she also recently had to undergo major surgery on her knee and is now a partially incapacitated stay-at-home mom of a five-month old.
Here we have a classic case of a family struggling to make ends meet. Who knows how this story will end and whether or not they will have to move into temporary housing until they get back on their feet. But wouldn't it be nice if the one thing they didn't have to worry about in the midst of all this is healthcare? How nice if that $400 per month didn't go to line the pockets of an insurance firm and instead, stayed put on a much needed paycheck.
Ugh. I just want people to stop freaking out and worrying so much about what could happen and focus on what should happen. Forget the goddamn government and the money and the complications and whatever BS the media and right-wing nutjobs like Sarah Palin can fixate on to distract us from the real issues at hand. Don't we, as human beings, have a moral obligation to help our fellow humans? Don't we?! Isn't there something really wrong with the fact that the U.S. ranked #29 (tied with Poland) on infant mortality rates? Or that the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee access to health care as a right of citizenship. We rank the 38th in the World Health Organizations in healthcare fairness and quality (only Slovenia is below us). I mean COME ON!!!!
All I'm saying is I hope we can finally get our shit together on this issue and make some positive changes that will benefit more than a handful of insurance company stockholders and CEOs.
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Oh, all I can say is thank god for Australia and Medicare - healthcare for all - it isn't perfect but nobody dies cause they can't afford to go to the doctor. Mind you we still have private health insurance which costs a pretty penny (still cheaper than the U.S. though) which for the most part feels like you are throwing money away - that is until something comes up like your husbands need for two knee reconstructions. It's when I think about things like health care when I say thank god I live here!
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